Wednesday, July 09, 2008

July 9, 2008

Note: I wrote this a couple of days ago and blogger was not allowing picture uploads so I am just now getting back to finishing it:).

For some reason that I have not yet figured out, 'porcupine' is now Ben's new favorite word.

Me: What would you like for lunch?

Ben: Porcupine! (said with a big grin)

Me: Would you like a pot pie for lunch?

Ben: I like porcupine in pot pie

It seems that this word now comes up in almost all conversations. At times it is quite funny and at other times it is not quite so funny:).

Ben: My tummy hurt.Me: Your tummy hurts? What's wrong with it?Ben: Porcupine (some words that I didn't understand and then hand gestures indicating he is getting the porcupine out of his tummy, all said with a big grin on his face).

Yesterday evening we took the new van over to my friend's house (the one who has the twin girls). It was nice because we got to meet each other's husband for the first time and the dad's got to meet the kids. The boys were excited because we finally got the insurance for our new van and this was their first ride in it. They were also excited to get to visit the twin girls.

When we arrived, they were all outside in their back yard playing so we joined them there. The first thing the boys saw was this little, pink Barbie jeep....the kind that runs on a battery and small children can drive them. Both boys immediately ran over to it and got in. Nick was in the driver's seat first so he drove first but it wasn't long before Ben was there. Ben never got out of that car the entire time we were there. At one point, he did let Nick drive again without any protest, which was surprising, since he is very into driving anything and everything these days so this was a dream come true. He has been talking about it all day today too, wanting to go back and drive again today. He is so funny.

Updated: And now, here we are, several days later and he is still talking about this all day long and asking to go to "Joy Joy and Gracie's to drive car"....."I like drive car". My mom, sister and nephew were just here, spending the night, and they got a big kick out of how often he talked about porcupines and driving this car.

The other day he told me that his bear was crying. I asked him why and he said it was because he "hug him too tight". I said "oh really, you hugged him too tight?" and he said "um hmmm (yes) and kiss him too tight too". They are really getting to the point where they are saying funny things every day now, multiple times a day, so I must be better about documenting these cute, funny things.

Yesterday we were getting ready to leave the house and I asked Nick if he wanted to turn the lights off. I was quite surprised when he said "no, too busy looking at mail". He was indeed looking at a piece of mail that we had given him the day before. I guess turning on and off the lights is no longer the thrill it once was.

A couple of nights ago we were upstairs, getting the boys ready for bed. We were reading about Noah and the flood from their children's Bible. The dad was reading and, when he reads to them, he will frequently stop before the end of a sentence and let them finish the last word or two. It keeps them involved and it is amazing how much they remember. He was reading "...and all of the earth was covered with _____?", and he hesitated to let them finish the sentence. Nick very quickly said "dirt!". It is funny how the little things like this, that come up suddenly and take you by surprise, can make you laugh so hard.

People frequently talk about the 'terrible twos' and, quite honestly, I can see why at times. There are some trying times with the two's. But, at the same time, I think it is one of the most exciting times of all because their communication skills increase so dramatically during this time, they can express their opinions, questions and thoughts better, they want to do everything for themselves (and it is amazing how much they really can do) and they also start remembering everything. These are all wonderful and awesome things to experience as a parent. I continue to be ever amazed at how wonderfully God has made us.The new van has been a huge hit with the boys. They really enjoy being able to see out much better. They have only ridden in it a few times so far but they (Ben especially) talk about it a lot. I could not count how many times Ben has said that he likes our new van and he is always wanting to go outside and play in it ("nice outside, van not hot" is his way of telling me that he thinks it would be a good time to go outside and play in the van. The dad took them outside and let them play in it one day so now Ben thinks they should get to go do this on a regular basis. I am not excited in the least by this activity.

My mom, sister and nephew came yesterday morning and left this morning. The boys had a great time with them, as always. They watched the boys and my sister put them to bed for us last night so we could go out. We went to the movies and saw Prince Caspian and we both thought it was really good. It makes me want to read the books, since I have never read them.

Unfortunately, for some reason still unknown to me, Nick woke up at 4:00am and thought it was time to be up. I tried to get him to go back to sleep and it was just not happening. My sister took the boys for a walk this morning and then kept them occupied so I could get another two hours of sleep in, which was wonderful. I am still tired though. Thankfully, Nick is now sleeping, as he was a very tired little guy. He went down at noon and I am hoping he takes a very long nap today.

Ben was not ready for nap yet so he is up and playing. He is so content to play by himself and has no problem whatsoever keeping himself busy and happy. It is fun to watch him play. He and Nick are such opposites. When Nick is awake without Ben, he is constantly wanting to wake up Ben and he hardly ever goes off and plays by himself. He wants company constantly. Ben has not once asked to go wake up Nick.

Meet our sons

About Us

I was raised in Oklahoma and, although I have lived in many cities in the U.S., I consider OK home. My husband (aka 'the dad' or 'the husband', since he doesn't want me to use his name) was raised in the Chicago area but Tucson, AZ is home for him. We were married a little later in life but we know that God brought us together and we are very thankful for that. I am now a stay at home wife of my dear husband, mom of our two sweet little boys and soon to be homeschool teacher of my two sons...and I love it!
Our sons were adopted from Russia, so look below if you would like to read more about our adoption process.

Our Adoption Story

The adoption of our beautiful sons from Volgograd Russia was finalized on January 17, 2007. It took around a year from the very beginning of our process to the end. I have tried to include lots of information about our adoption process on this blog, all of the ups and downs we experienced, what to bring and what not to bring, what our trips to Russia were like, etc. If you have any questions for us, please feel free to email me at lea@pisarik.com.